TOPAZ INTERNMENT CAMP NEAR DELTA, UT

On the way home from Cedar 2 weeks ago we stopped at Topaz Internment Camp near Delta, Ut. I had never heard of this before but Kyle is studying it in school, so he told me all about it. It was very interesting and shocking that we did this in our country.

In 1942-1945 America forced evacuation of 110,000 Japanese-American people (2/3 of the people were US citizens). The US feared and distrusted these people because of the attack on Pearl Harbor in WWII They thought they were all spies. Delta was the site for one of the 10 internment camps. One story is about a man wh0 was allowed to work at a newspaper in Delta. He earned $16. per month. The government charged him rent for living in a Topaz barrack.

It was really sad to visit this site, however it is said that the Americans weren't that mean to them. The sad thing was that they lost all of their possesions. When the 3 years were up they had nothing.

The top picture is of some of the incarcerated mothers that were welcoming their US veteran sons - while at the same time, they are mourning for their sons lost in the war fighting for America.

The bottom pic is the first internees arriving at Topaz mountain, their home for the next 3 years. September 15, 1942. They had to sell their homes, land, businesses, and personal property.

The top pic is of some of the Japenese digging a trench by hand for a soda fountain pipe.

The middle pic is of a pre-school nursery. there were 4 nurseries with 180 children in each.

The bottom pic is what the Topaz Internment Camp looked like from an aerial view.

This top pic is of Kyle standing at what is left of the barracks that were fenced in with barbed wire and 4 look-out towers on each corner with officers with guns. The rusty pipe was a stove pipe and if you look close you can see items left on the ground. We were able to collect some medicine bottles, a toy airplane, an antique silver lipstick holder, fingernail polish bottles and some broken dishes. The site was home to 8,000 Japenese families.

The bottom picture is one of the replicas of the barracks at a museum in Delta. We were able to go inside and look around. It held 2 families.

The top pic is a map of the Topaz camps. It was 42 blocks. Each block was equipped with a central eating hall, recreation hall, laundry room, showers & latrine. There was no heat or water and no furniture in each barrack except for the bed. In the desert the weather was extreme cold in winter and extreme hot in summer and there was no insulation in the barracks. The wind blew forcely and there were unbearable dust storms.

The bottom picture is of a monument of the Concentration camps at Topaz mountain. Grandpa Rex and Kyle

We went to Cedar Breaks 2 weekends ago. These are some pictures of the beautiful sites. Camille and Matt went with us for the day on Saturday, it was soooo good to see her.

Camille's wedding pictures at the Manti Temple

Camille's wedding pictures in Spring City